Manuel
Masculine · “God is with us”
Manuel is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 191,584 boys against 1,158 girls since 1880. See Manuel as a girl name
The name is a sign given to a king who did not want one. Told to ask for a sign and refusing, the king is given one anyway: a child will be born and called God-with-us, and by the time he is old enough to tell right from wrong the countries frightening you will be gone.
How old is the name Manuel?
Manuel was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Manuel alive today was born around 1975, making them about 50 years old. About 136,000 people named Manuel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Manuel most popular?
Manuel peaked in 1906, reaching #104 nationally. Today it ranks #371, 267 places below that high. See the whole 1906 chart.
Manuel appears on these lists:
- Names with only one spelling
- Names that begin and end with the same letter
- Spanish and Latin names with warmth
- Portuguese names in the American record
- Names ending in -ell / -el
- all guides
Works in Spanish & Latino families too:
Where it comes from
From Immanuel to Manuel
The story of Manuel
The Portuguese king of this name presided over the moment his small country briefly ran the world's trade. The fleets sent out during his reign reached India, Brazil and China; the wealth that came back paid for a style of architecture so distinctive that it is named after him, all twisted stone ropes, knots, anchors and sea creatures carved onto Gothic buildings, which is what happens when a nation of sailors is suddenly rich. He also expelled or forcibly converted the country's Jews, having inherited a population that had just fled Spain for exactly that reason. Both things are his and the buildings are still standing.
Meaning
God is with us
Hebrew immanu, with us, and el, God. The full form is Emmanuel and this is the shortened one used across the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking world, where it has been an ordinary name for centuries rather than a solemn one. The shortening removes the first element and keeps the divine one.
How the name formed
- Immanuel
- Emmanuel
- Manuel
Related forms: Manuel · Manuel · Manuele · Emanuel
Pronouncing Manuel
man-WEL
Two syllables with the stress at the back in Spanish and Portuguese, where the u and the e run together. English speakers often give it three, MAN-yoo-el, which is understood without difficulty.
Nicknames for Manuel
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 19922,586 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #104reached in 1906
- Change vs 2022
- −19.2%860 in 2025, from 1,065
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Manuel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Manuel in Spanish — same name
- Manuel in Portuguese — same name
- Manuele in Italian — same name
- Emanuel in German — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Manuels among us
people named Manuel are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 1,986 born in 2025 was named Manuel
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Manuel sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Manuel is headed
Manuel should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Manuel beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Manuel in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is spelled identically in Spanish and Portuguese and recognizable everywhere else.
- Manny and Manolo are two short forms in completely different registers.
- The meaning is clear, warm and can be given to a child in three words.
- The record carries it for girls in small numbers, so it is not quite an absolute signal.
- English and Spanish give it different syllable counts, so it has to be introduced.
- For British readers of a certain age it is attached to one comic television character.
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What they receive
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Manuel
Masculine · #371 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Manuels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 136,000 people named Manuel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Manuel in 2025?
- Manuel ranks #371 among US boy names in 2025, with 860 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Manuel?
- About 1 in every 1,986 US boys born in 2025 was named Manuel — 860 in all.
- Will my child share the name Manuel with classmates?
- Manuel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Manuel
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Matthias#372 · Marco#370 · Miller#369 · Grady#373 · Andre#368 · Forrest#374 · Kyaire#367 · Kayce#375
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Manuel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Manuel and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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